[citation needed] He was awarded a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1974 for research on the genetics of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans.
[6] Hodgkin was a scientist at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.
[8] He first unraveled the genetic and maturational events in worm sex determination before extending his interest to other developmental pathways, behaviour and immunity.
[8] Most Caenorhabditis elegans worms are self-fertilizing hermaphrodites, with two X chromosomes, but X0 males can also arise spontaneously, permitting genetic crosses.
[8] Since 2000, Hodgkin has focused on the nematode's response to attack by bacteria, exploring highly conserved pathways of innate immunity that are also relevant to development.